The Rhythm of Love
by Kaiisan
Summary: Levy is finally reunited with old friends at her new Uni! But old friends have new friends and one new friend has wickedly long hair, piercings and a fearsome scowl - along with a hilariously cute side to him. Levy is hopelessly drawn towards this dangerously handsome man but with the stress of hard classes and him being a stubborn idiot, how is she going to cope? [GaLe/NaLu]RomCom
1. 01: Introductions are Made

**The Rhythm of Love!**

**I know, I know. I haven't updated any of my stories in, what, a year? and I'm posting NEW STUFF? I should be hung, drawn and quartered immediately. I am so very sorry. I am a horrible horrible person.**

* * *

_Levy is finally reunited with old friends at her new University! But old friends have new friends and one said new friend has wickedly long hair, piercings and a fearsome scowl...along with an almost hilariously cute side to him. Levy is hopelessly drawn towards this dangerously handsome man but with the stress of hard classes and him being a stubborn idiot, hope is she going to cope?_

* * *

"Good day today!" Levy sang in the shower. She was starting her first day of university!

After drying off she dressed in a cute, pale blue, short-sleeved, knee-length dress with a pearl-buckle belt that was slightly dressier than her usual attire, white leggings, a cute pair of sandals and a white headband. She put very light make up on, than ran out to her room to double-check she had packed everything; after today, she'll be moving from her parent's house to the dorm.

Most of her books were in boxes already and were stuffed in her parent's car, all she had yet to pack was her clothes. She grabbed her duffel and threw it on her bed, opened her closet and messily piled everything in(without the hangers..). She emptied her drawers of underwear, socks and bras, sighing in a depressed way as she was reminded of her tiny bust size (B-small C). She then packed hair and make-up supplies, bathroom essentials, a few CDs and DVDs, her laptop and charger plus the rest of her books.

"Levy honey, come eat breakfast! I made your favourite!" her mother, Martha, called down downstairs.

"Coming, Mum!" Levy replied cheerfully and dragged her duffel and bookbag, bouncing down the stairs and nearly crashing into her nine-year-old little brother, Zach.

"Watch it, Levy-nee!" he grumbled, slapping playfully at his sister's hand as she ruffled his spiky brown hair. His hazel-brown eyes widened a little when he saw her bags. "Oh, yeah, forgot you're leaving today.." he pouted.

"Aww, don't worry lil' bro! As if I'd forget my own family!" Levy grinned, dumping her bags by the front door and pulling Zach with her to the kitchen where breakfast was waiting.

"Pancakes to celebrate!" Martha cheered, her face covered in batter and her long blue hair -that Levy inherited - tied in a messy ponytail. At Levy's seat sat a plate of mini pancakes.

"Pan-Pan!" Levy's three-year-old sister squealed happily, her chocolate-brown hair pulled into a ponytail on each side of her head and her blue eyes bright. She slapped her hands on her toddler seat repeatedly.

"Cute, Naomi! Yum, mini, just like I like them!" Levy kissed her mum on the cheek and sat down, pouring maple syrup and eating them quickly. After eating five, she rinsed her plate, gave her sister a hug and kiss before going to grab her bags.

Her dad, Trevor McGarden, was waiting by the (open) front door. He had brown hair and blue eyes, and a warm smile and personality to match. He opened his arms and Levy ran to him, hugging him for the last time.

Her mother, now cleaned up, came over, grabbed her keys and went to go start the car.

Zach pounced on his sister the moment she let go of her dad. "Bye Levy-nee," he mumbled into her dress. Levy hugged her brother tight.

"Bye, Zach. I'll stop by and see you guys on the weekend."

Levy waved them goodbye, grabbed her bags and packed them and herself into the car. After buckling up her mum drove an hour to her new Uni, Fairy Tail, where she parked near to the entrance.

"Excited to be going to your dream Uni, honey?" Martha asked with a knowing grin.

"Yes! I can't wait!" Levy smiled.

"Well, I guess I'll wait here while you go get your dorm rooms sorted, and then I'll help you unpack."

"Thanks Mom!" Levy hugged her and got out of the car, leaving all her things apart from her bookbag with her mom.

* * *

After following some signs she found the grand hall where the Master was waiting to welcome new students. She got there just as he started.

"Welcome, new students!" A tiny man wearing colourful clothes, Master Makarov, spoke cheerfully into the microphone. "Time to sort out the arrangements!" he clapped his hands and a few teachers joined him on stage.

"Boys, go and form a line in front of Gildarts and draw a piece of paper from the bowl to decide which dorm you'll be staying in. Girls, go to Aquarius."

As he pointed out who they were, Levy noted that the master didn't give the teachers the title 'Mr.' or 'Miss/Mrs/Ms'. Odd.

"Then, boys, please form a line in front of the table where Macau and Wakaba are sitting, where they'll find your schedule for you. Girls, form a line in front of Aries and Virgo. Now remember, kids, to treat everyone here at Fairy Tail University as your nakama! Just as treat my fellow teachers as my brothers and sisters, I give all my students my love as if they were my own sons and daughters! So, make love, not war! That's all, no classes today!"

The crowd cheered and split, going to indicated lines.

Levy got in line and bounced up and down on the spot.

When it got to her turn to pick her dorm, Aquarius gave her the stink eye. _What was her problem?_

She withdrew her hand to see she picked Dorm 5. There were 10 dorms for each gender and with split between first and second years. Underneath she read that she'd be sharing with two other first years and two second years. _I hope I get along with them!_ she thought cheerfully.

She quickly moved out of the way of the girls behind her and spotted a head of blond hair that seemed vaguely familiar. The girl was of average height, but with an hourglass shape and large bust that seemed to want to fall out of her military-style sleeveless vest, which was tucked into a pair of black skinny jeans and boots with a small heel to them. Her hair was down for the most part, but she sported a small ponytail on the side of her head that Levy instantly recognised.

"Lu-chan?"

The blonde whirled around at the old nickname, startled. She looked around for a bit until she spotted the bluenette.

"Levy-chan! Oh my gosh is that _you?!_" She squealed and raced towards the shorter girl, who ran into the girl's arms.

"Lucy! It's so good to see you again finally!" Levy yelled happily. She leaned back a little to look her old friend in the eyes. They both had chocolate-brown eyes in the exact same shade, something they'd both liked when they were younger. "It's been how many years?"

"Since you skipped your way through school ahead of me? Hmm, two?" Lucy grinned, though she did look a little sad. "How was teacher-training college? You must've been so awkward, being the only 16-year-old amongst 18-year-old college students!"

"I couldn't help that I finished highschool in my second year instead of the fourth, I'm just too smart," Levy joked, making her friend laugh. They parted from their hug, but linked arms to walk to the other table together. "Teacher-training college wasn't so bad. Mostly girls wanting to be primary school teachers thinking it'd be easy, but ending up struggling to pass the maths exams. I had to coach so many of them! I don't even wanna teach maths!"

Lucy laughed at her friend's antics. It was like they'd never been apart. Especially since one of them hadn't gown an inch.

They stood in line for their schedules, and noticed that the lecturers also had small laptops with moveable webcams attached to them. As they got closer to the front they realised that the webcams took pictures of the students and the laptop printed their picture and student information onto a small ID card.

Finally reaching the front, Levy sat down in front of Aries, who immediately apologised for having to take her picture. Levy simply smiled and said it was fine. She smiled for her picture, and while they waited for it to be printed Aries searched for her schedule.

A couple of minutes later and she and Lucy were both done and they compared their schedules. They applied for a couple of the same lectures apparently, as well as a few clubs.

"Wow, we have a couple of the same lectures," Lucy grinned, looking between the sheets, "and clubs too."

"Literacy Studies, Journalism 101, Dance Club, Gymnastics Club, and Meditation and Yoga Club!" Levy announced after carefully scanning both schedules.

"Wow, Levy, some of those classes...or _all_ of them really..._really?"_ Lucy grabbed Levy's sheet and read out Levy's other lectures with a shocked and slightly frightened tone to her voice. "Language History, Advanced Japanese Studies, History of Ancient and Extinct Languages, Advanced Italian Studies, Advanced _Russian_ Studies?!"

"Yeah, so? I've already mastered Latin, Greek, French and Spanish. They didn't have Portuguese on offer though, shame." Levy shrugged. "What're your other classes?"

"Author Studies, Fashion Studies, Photography 101, and Modeling 101."

"Modeling!" Levy squealed. "Perfect! You'll make an excellent model! I always knew you'd get into it!" She clapped her hands gleefully whilst Lucy blushed.

"Actually, that's a funny story..." Lucy giggled. Levy made to gesture for her to continue. "Do you remember Natsu? The annoying boy with pink hair?" Levy nodded. Of course she remembered. "Well he's kind of my boyfriend now..."

"No way?!" Levy gasped. She remembered that Natsu had the biggest crush on Lucy, and he would tease and annoy her to no end, just to get her attention. And it seems like his effort had won through!

"Yes way," Lucy giggled again, though she seemed slightly embarrassed. "We're keeping it low-key for now though, since it only happened a month or so ago, during summer. But he's the one who persuaded me to do the modeling class."

Suddenly she jumped and clicked her fingers together, starting to grin. "Do you remember Gray as well? Natsu's best friend."

Levy nodded.

"Well those two dared each other to take a girly class or club for the whole year, no dropping out. I can't wait to find them and see what they took!"

"Well shouldn't we find our dorms first? We kind of have to move in today," Levy reminded her.

"Oh, I'm already sorted, I had my stuff brought to Dorm 5 after I found out that was where I was staying,"

"Dorm 5? That's where I am!"

"Oh my gosh! We have to hurry and get you the room next to mine!"

The girls laughed loudly as the broke off into a run towards the dormitories, without a care of who saw them.

* * *

In the end, they succeeded in securing the room next to Lucy's for Levy. Each dorm was a simple, two-story building; a spacious shared living room and open kitchen-diner on the ground floor, and five en suite bedrooms on the second floor. Lucy pointed out to the blunette that the two rooms on the opposite side of the hall belonged to the two second-year students, and the third room was at the end of the hall. After securing a piece of sticky tape to stick up the make-shift "Levy's Room!" poster to her door and a similar one for Lucy's, the pair headed down to the living room, only to find two older girls standing in the middle of the room, arguing.

"I'm telling you, Mira, we should have made strawberry cheesecake to welcome the girls!"

"Nonsense, I'm sure they would prefer these blueberry muffins I made."

The one girl, 'Mira', had long, blonde-white hair that curled slightly and had her fringe clipped back. She had bright blue eyes and sported a pretty lilac dress. In her hands she held a tray of muffins.

The other girl had strikingly red hair and brown eyes, and looked very scary. She was frowning severely and had a vein popping on her forehead. She was wearing a Uni-branded black polo shirt over a plain blue pleated skirt that went to her knees where they met black boots.

"But strawberries are obviously the better fruit!"

"Erza, this isn't the right time of year for strawberries anyway, or are you just an idiot?"

The two girls had a very dark aura around each other, though only one was openly angry. Both of them scared the souls out of Lucy and Levy.

They must have been spotted though, because both girls turned to them at once and smiled a sickly sweet smile.

"Hi girls!" The blonde chirped happily. "Welcome to the dorm!"

"MiraJane and I, Erza, are your second year dorm mates," The redhead greeted, though not as overly happy as the other. "Mira is slightly damaged in the head, as you can tell since she didn't buy me- I mean you any strawberries-"

"_Shut yer frickin' trap 'bout yer bloody strawberries!"_ A muffin flew off the tray and smacked Erza full on in the face.

MiraJane kept the smile on her face as she held the tray of remaining muffins out to them. "Blueberry muffin?"

Lucy and Levy were too shocked to say anything.

Suddenly, a small cough revealed the presence of another person. A short girl with long, dark blue hair entered the room very carefully.

"Um, is this dorm 5? I'm Wendy, I'm staying here..."

* * *

_Read, review, don't kill me... please..._

_(also... the relationship between MiraJane and Erza will be similar to how they were as kids...Wendy is slightly older than canon...Levy and Lucy are slightly more like their Edo versions... Gajeel will have a sibling [take a guess who]... and this is a T-rated story...make outs will happen...)_


	2. 02: A Guided Tour

**The Rhythm of Love 2**

**Ages:**

**16 - Wendy**

**18 - Levy, Lucy, Lisanna, Natsu, Gray**

**19 - Juvia, Erza, Elfman (if i include him, which i doubt)**

**20 - Jellal, Gajeel, MiraJane**

**Note: in England, education is free until you're 19 years old, and then after that you pay your years loans, etc. In my story, this is the same though there are special ways to pay for your education if you're older, as I can imagine Gajeel would have trouble otherwise. But we'll see how it turns out.**

* * *

The rest of the day kept Levy quite busy. It was a Friday, and due to this there were no classes and it was used as a day to move in the first years. Levy noted with some surprise that if each dorm only held 5 rooms, that meant there were only 50 female students and 50 males students in total at the university! It wasn't possible to be this small... right?

"Actually, only the first five dorms for each gender have 5 rooms," Erza informed her later on, carrying one of the many boxes that contained Levy's books. After the muffin fiasco was sorted, the two squabbling second years decided to pitch in and help Levy, Lucy and Wendy move in. "The other five dorms are three times the size, and have 15 rooms each. There's room for 100 female and male students of either year group to stay here. They're for the students that stay here year-long, during the holidays too."

"Oh, I didn't realise some students would want to stay here during the holidays too." Levy frowned, setting a box down when they got to her room. Erza did the same.

"Some don't have a choice," she sighed. Levy nodded understandingly, and they went back outside where Levy's mother Martha was taking boxes out of the car.

"Then there's the senior buildings, for third and fourth years. You weren't told about them yet as some students decide to move into their own places during the longer summer break between second and third year."

"Longer break?" Levy questioned.

"It's longer because some classes only go for two years instead of four, or some students just get the sub-diploma instead of working for the full one."

"I see."

"Also, there are some students that live off-campus anyway, they either live close by or in town. So really, there are about 500 students at Fairy Tail. Still small, but not as small as originally thought, ne?" Erza smiled and picked up another heavy box.

"Thank you so much for helping my little girl move in," Martha gushed, smiling happily at Erza. "It's such a life-changing experience, you know?"

"I understand completely, Ma'am. It is nothing," Erza replied modestly. "I simply wish Levy to feel as welcome here as possible."

"Awwh, isn't she just the sweetest Levy? Isn't she?" Martha sighed, making Erza blush.

Erza cleared her throat a little, slightly embarrassed at all the complementing. "I'll just take these inside."

After she left, a red-faced Levy wailed to her mother, "Mum! You were embarrassing her!"

Martha simply laughed.

"Oh yeah! Mum, you'll never guess who the first person I saw here was!"

"Some really cute boy with beautiful blue eyes?" Martha teased, causing Levy to go even more red in the face.

"No!" Levy pouted. "It was Lucy! My best friend from high school, remember?"

"Ohh!" Martha gasped, "the pretty blonde girl? Heartfilia?"

"Yes, her." Levy grinned. "We're also dorm-mates and have rooms next to each other."

"Oh honey, that's brilliant!" Martha reached over and gave her a hug. "It's so nice to hear you're not being anti-social anymore!"

"Muuum," Levy whined. "I couldn't help it; I was going through a phase."

"I hope your out of that phase now," Martha chided. "Though i did notice you still had some of those clothes..."

"I still _like_ wearing those clothes, that's why." Levy stuck her tongue out cheekily. Erza returned along with MiraJane, Lucy and Wendy, who came out to say hello. After some introductions were made, Martha and Lucy shared a quick hug too.

"It's nice to see you again, Mrs. McGarden." Lucy smiled.

"Please, all of you call me Martha." chuckling, Martha checked her phone as it beeped. "I have to go kids, but Lucy, how would you like to stay tomorrow evening at ours? Levy's coming back home again for the weekend and we'd love to have you."

"That would be amazing, Martha." Lucy replied with a softer smile. She always did feel at home with the McGardens.

They shared another hug, then Levy and her mother shared another hug, and then she was off, leaving just two final boxes in front of Levy.

"Let's get these inside shall we?" MiraJane smiled.

* * *

Levy spent most of the morning in her room, trying to sort out her boxes. Her room wasn't small, it was an average double bedroom with a capsule-style en suite that had a tiny shower, toilet and wash basin inside by her door. There was a simple, two-door closet opposite the en suite with 3 drawers at the bottom and two cupboards at the top, all built into the wall. In the furthest right corner was her bed, a single bed with a surprisingly comfy mattress and soft blankets. Next to it was a tiny beside table and lamp, and a window right above that. On the other side of the window, built into the wall all the over to the closet was a desk with five drawers next to the closet and the chair tucked under it. There were three shelves above the desk that ran completely along the wall too, and the corners of the desks had a raised shelf, possibly to keep open drinks from any papers scattered on the table.

At the moment, most of her boxes were lined up in the gap between her bed and the en suite, with the boxes with her books on and under her desk as well. Currently she was trying to hang up her clothes and put them away.

Eventually, she gave up and went downstairs for lunch.

At about 3 in the afternoon, MiraJane announced that her and a couple of second years were going to meet up and lead a tour around campus, and that if they wanted to join, they could follow her.

Levy nodded excitedly. "Can I just get changed first? It's so warm today!"

"Go ahead, I'll wait for you." MiraJane replied.

"Me too, I feel like wearing shorts!" Lucy announced, bouncing up the stairs to join the bluenette.

"I'm fine..." Wendy quietly spoke. Her dark blue hair was in a loose braid over her shoulder and she wore a simple, light green dress and white flats.

Upstairs, Lucy had changed from black jeans to black shorts, but kept the rest of her clothes the same. She was looking through Levy's clothes as the shorter girl looked for something to wear.

"Levy-chan, you have so many styles of clothing!" mildly surprised, Lucy held up a lacy see-through top in one hand and a rock band t-shirt in the other. In front of her, half way pulled out of a box, was a white and flowery silk dress.

"I know," Levy sighed, grabbing the band shirt out of her friend's hand and setting it on her bed, pulling off her dress and leggings. "I just go through different moods, yaknow? Need the clothes to match." She pulled on the top, which was baggy (a medium when she usually wore extra small), black and had the logo for a band called Theory Of A Deadman on it. She then grabbed bright red short shorts from her duffel and put them on, tucking the shirt in but pulling it out a little to keep it loose. She kicked off her sandals and went with her tacky red flip-flops. She pulled her headband out of her hair and restyled it in a lazy ponytail.

"Wow, you managed to go from girly to rock chick in... 4 minutes." Lucy checked her watch, impressed. Levy simply grinned, applied a layer of eyeliner and mascara to her eyes, sprayed some sweet-smelling deodorant, and applied some cherry lip balm, giving her lips a slightly more red tint. She grabbed her sunglasses off of her windowsill and bounced out of the room.

"5 minute makeover, quite literally," Lucy laughed from behind her, loud enough for the others to hear. When they got downstairs MiraJane, Erza and Wendy looked slightly surprised.

"Wow! Levy-san, you suit that look so well!" Wendy complemented, looking a little jealous. "I wish I could wear whatever I want and look so pretty."

"You just gotta go with how you feel, then wear it with confidence!" Levy brushed off the compliment breezily. In truth she didn't feel nearly so pretty, but she was more of a comfort-person anyway.

MiraJane and Erza simply laughed.

"Come on guys, tour time!"

* * *

The tour wasn't very long. After all, most lecture halls and classrooms were in the main building that the students first assembled in. The only other buildings around belonged to some specific courses, as well as a library and a student gym for sports-related clubs.

"The gym over there," Erza pointed out, "is where the swimming, dancing, martial arts and gymnastics clubs are. Meditation and Yoga takes place behind the building in the "Zen" garden, overlooking the race track for the Track and Field club. The library is over there, and behind it on the other side of the fence is the garages for the mechanics-based courses."

The group chattered along merrily, continuing on its way, though Levy had already broken away and was drifting towards the library from the moment it was mentioned. It was a big building, as possibly the oldest too. If Levy's research was correct, than this library was actually the original Fairy Tail building, though it was changed over time. She stood there, one hand at her hip while the other fanned her face, trying the guesstimate how old the building was.

Suddenly she heard a _snap!_ and a _crash!_ somewhere to the side of her, in a patch of trees lining the fence at the back of the building. There was some cursing, before it went silent.

Curious, she started walking in that direction, pulling her sunglasses up onto her head to squint into the shade. She was just able to make out the shape of a person-

"Levy-chan! What're you doing? The tour's finished, let's go get ice-cream!"

"Hai, Lu-chan," Levy called back half-heartedly, turning away from the shadowy figure she thought she saw, although now she wasn't so sure.

* * *

Gajeel woke at the sound of annoying chatter. Opening one eye, he noticed a gaggle of annoying-sounding students standing in the quad-shaped patch of ground between the L-shaped main building, gym and library. He snorted and went to fall asleep on his perch again with a flash of blue caught his sight between the leaves.

_Huh?_

Gajeel sat forward. There was a girl with blue hair in that group.

_Juvia? No, not the right colour...wait...shit. She's hot._

Gajeel stooped on the branch now, peering through the leaves to get a better look. The girl was short and sexy. She was wearing a band shirt that, from what he could tell, was one of his favourite bands, and shorts so small they just barely covered her ass. And boy, did she has a nice ass.

He watched as the girl laughed along to what her blonde friend was saying, lifting her sunglasses away from her face to wipe some stray hair from her face and casually revealing her hazel-brown eyes to her observer, unbeknownst to her. He didn't even care about the fact she seemed to have a small bust, he was too busy watching her smile, and when her back was turned, her ass.

The group wandered off, but the girl stayed and instead moved closer to the library, right next to the copse of trees he was hiding in. She was starting to be hidden from view so Gajeel tried standing up slowly, moving forward on the branch-

_Snap! Crash!_

With a painful thump his face met the ground and he cursed, grabbing his nose in pain. Sitting up, he realised with some alarm that the girl had heard him and was walking this way. His face started heating up and he back away slowly.

"Levy-chan! What're you doing? The tour's finished, let's go get ice-cream!"

"Hai, Lu-chan," the girl now known to Gajeel as Levy, turned away and started to leave, allowing Gajeel to start breathing again. He hadn't even realised that he was holding his breath.

_Well, shit. So her name's Levy, eh?_

Gajeel groaned into his hand, rubbing his face. It was gonna be a long year.

* * *

**AN:  
Yaaaay Gajeel's made an appearance! Do you like seeing things from his POV or should I keep things with Levy?**

**Also, out of curiosity, would you guys like me to post a chapter of just the characters schedules? I've written out all of their classes and stuff to keep track but I'm wondering if you guys would like it too? It might help, I dunno, so tell me what you think!**

**(Also, shameless advertising: the dress I mention Wendy wearing is the one I describe in more detail in a chapter of my story Dragon Hearts and How To Tame Them coughcoughcough)**


	3. 03: Bets and Pancakes

**I heard you liked Gajeel's POV, so I might include more of it! BUT FIRST TWO QUESTIONS:::**

**- I really don't know what kind of teacher Levy'll be. Should I keep her on the language classes or make it more AU-ish since I've already done loads of that already? (For some reason I really want her to be a dance instructor ngl) ANSWER IN REVIEW/POLL please?**

**-Do you want me to post a chapter with just the character's class schedules? I just think that might help I dunno xD**

* * *

On the evening of that same day, Levy was reunited with two more high school friends: Natsu and Gray. It was as though times had never changed.

They all met up in the "Common Room" - a large building that sat in the middle of the blocks of dorms(1). It was carpeted and had groups of couches and armchairs spread out for people to sit on. There are little TV's in the corners and speakers throughout the room. On one wall stood drink and snack machines as well as a water dispenser and a group of bins for different recycling rubbish. There were sets of doors on each wall, two on opposite sides leading to girls and boys bathrooms respectively and two entryways.

The group of four sat in a corner near a snack dispenser. There were two, two-person couches next to each other but angled to face each other, a coffee table between them and two slouchy, beanbag-like armchairs on the other side. Gray had maneuvered the chairs to create a slouchy bed and lounged shirtless across both of them. Levy and Lucy sat next to each other on one couch.

Natsu sat cross-legged on the coffee table, much to the annoyance of Lucy.

Neither of the boys have changed, Levy noted. Gray still had his streaking habit and Natsu's hair was still pink and fluffier than ever. Natsu's brother Haru, more commonly known as "Happy" had dyed his hair sky-blue apparently, but that was the only new news to her. Other than that there wasn't much to update her on.

"So come on guys," Lucy blurted out suddenly. "I'm dying to know! What did you guys pick as part of your dare?"

"Actually, what classes are you taking here in general?" Levy wondered. "I can't imagine what you guys want to do as jobs."

"I'm gonna study to run my own animal rescue centre-slash-veterinary-slash-training school!" Natsu exclaimed, suddenly excited about describing his goal. "I'm taking Business Studies, Biology 101, Veterinary Nursing 101, Animal Health + Nutrition, Animal Behaviour, Anatomy + Physiology, and Photography 101 as a hobby class." He grinned happily.

"That's awesome! But are you sure it's not cause Lucy's taking Photog. too?" Levy winked. Lucy and Natsu both blushed and smiled sheepishly.

"What clubs?"

"Swimming Club and... Meditation and Yoga." Natsu winced as Gray started cackling loudly behind him.

"Dude! That's such a pansy-ass club to join!"

"It's part of the bet remember?"

"So? You could've picked something less pansy-like," Gray snorted.

"Oh yeah? What did you pick?" Natsu sneered.

"Well, you know I'm always sculpting and making stuff," Gray started. Everyone nodded. "So I decided to take art classes and try my hand at that. Advanced Art, Graphics + Design, Sculpting, Photography 101 and... Modeling 101."

"Modeling?!" Lucy shrieked. "Gray! You want to be a _model_?"

"It's for the bet," Gray shrugged, ignoring Natsu's childish giggles. "And once I accidentally stripped to my underwear in a cafe and a lady asked if I could model for her company. I said no, of course, but it gave me the idea."

"Wow," Levy breathed, giggling. "That's great... I think?"

"So Gray's going to be in Modeling 101 with me..." Lucy laughed.

"That'll be fun," Levy smirked. "Just make sure he keeps his underwear on, at least."

"Oi!" Gray snapped.

Everyone laughed.

"Um, can I join you guys?" a small voice asked politely. It was Wendy, who'd changed into comfy sweatpants, a purple tank top and a black, boy's hoodie. Her hair reached her elbows when it was down and she looked really small.

"Sure!" Lucy smiled reassuringly. She patted the spot next to her on the couch. "Sit with us, we'll squish up together." Levy moved a little too to create more room.

"Thank you so much!" Wendy smiled brightly. She sat carefully and pulled the sleeves that were too long for her backup her arms. "I don't know anyone here... and Erza-senpai and MiraJane-senpai aren't in the dorm.. I was by myself so I went to look for you two."

"Awwh, you're so cute! It's like having another Levy!" Lucy hugged the younger girl who blushed, whilst Levy sat pouting.

"I'm not that cute!"

"But you _are_ that little!" Natsu pointed out with a smirk. A pillow flew off the couch into his face and he fell off the table and onto Gray. Said male just grunted and pushed him off.

"Anyway," Levy spoke as if nothing happened. "Guys, this is Wendy, she's a first-year like us and she's in our dorm. Wendy, these two idiots are Gray and Natsu. Natsu's the pink-haired idiot and also Lucy's boyfriend. Gray's the stripper."

"Hi."

"Hey."

"H-hello."

"Don't worry about them," Lucy smiled. "They're pretty harmless. Unless Natsu has a lighter."

"Don't give Natsu fire," Levy agreed. "Or flammable stuff."

Wendy looked a little nervous but nodded anyway.

"Hey, how old are you?" Gray asked suddenly. "You look a lot younger than us."

"I'm 16." She replied quietly. "I skipped going to high school and just took the exams over the summer after middle school, then went to a medical college for two years, and now I'm here."

"What are you hoping to become?" Levy asked curiously.

"A-a doctor, specifically either a paramedic or midwife. I'm not sure yet, so I'm taking classes for both."

Natsu whistled. "Wow, I'm impressed. You must be really smart!"

Wendy blushed and looked at her hands. "T-thank you, Natsu-niisan."

"Niisan?" Natsu repeated, confused.

"You're older than me so I should address you properly," Wendy explained. "I'm from a Japanese family and it would be disrespectful to call you without a title. And since we're in the same year I can't call you my senpai, so 'older brother' is best."

"I know what you're meaning," Levy added. "My mum is half Japanese. That's where her - and my - hair colour is inherited from. Yours too?" Levy asked, to which Wendy nodded.

"I moved from Japan to here when I was seven," her eyes darkened a little. "My oka-san, mother, was very ill and needed a certain doctor, even though she was a doctor herself. We flew over here where she was treated for a while, but she passed away." Pausing for a moment, a murmur of quiet condolences passed until she spoke again. "I lived with my grandmother up until today, she taught me a lot about medicine herself, since she's a doctor too."

"Is it like a family trait? To be doctors?" Natsu asked quietly.

"Yes, I also want to feel close to my mother through the job she loved doing."

"I see. My old man used to be an animal trainer." Natsu tried brightening the mood. "Not for the circus or anything, but those animals you see in adverts and stuff. He even tamed lions and performed tricks with them!"

"Pft, how long are you gonna believe that?" Gray snorted. "He just said that to impress you."

"He did!" Natsu growled. "He has scars from their teeth and stuff!"

"Calm down boys." Lucy sighed, though she was glad he helped cheer Wendy up again.

* * *

The next day, Levy woke feeling deeply refreshed. The bed here was better than her own!

The morning sun shone through her window, lighting up the room. Her alarm was a radio, which was set to go off at 8am on weekends and 7am on weekdays other than Friday, which was set for 4:30am to get her awake for meditation and yoga at 5am.

Ludo's _Lake Pontchartrain_ starts to play as the digital clock flickers to 8am.

_"I'll tell it like it happened, it was Darius and Noland and me..."_

Levy smiled. Ludo had a lot of weird songs but they were very catchy. And this one was very weird but one of her favourites. She sat up, stretching her arms up while yawning.

_"They both had crawfish, strictly chicken for me.."_

She let the radio continue playing as she got out of bed and wandered to her little capsule bathroom, which some would say was slightly cramped but for Levy was quite perfectly sized. She ran the cold tap and splashed water on her face.

Grabbing her brush, she tried to brush out as much of her hair as possible, the stubborn curls knotting in her grip. With her other hand she grabbed her can of dry conditioner and sprayed a bit on her hair, hoping it helps. She began to sing along with the song.

_"Come down to Lake Pontchartrain, rest you soul and feed your brain. Free for you and all your friends, crawfish 'til the bitter end._

_Come down to Lake Pontchartrain, wade to where the shallows break. That's where you will get to see, everything the water can be!"_

The song was quite its own horror story, much to the delight of Levy. The song continues about people coming out of the lake, stealing the singer's friends and his futile attempts to get the authority to believe him. She finished with her hair, put on deodorant and left her bathroom, looking around for a bandana. She found one in a box full of socks and underwear, then set it on her bed.

She grabbed her phone, checking the weather forecast. Another sunny day, though thankfully not as hot.

She didn't get back to the dorm until about 1 in the morning last night, thanks to the typical antics of the boys. Like in the old days, time seemed to fly with them around and Natsu kindly enough carried a sleeping Wendy back for the girls. This also meant she still hadn't had time to sort her clothes. What was she feeling today?

Eventually, she found a casual, 2-layer tank-top dress: the under-layer a transparent white that fell to just above her knees, the top layer a dark purple with two front pockets at waist height that fell to a couple of inches above the white layer. The style was naturally wrinkled, and simple enough for Levy to finish off the look with the black bandana she found and black flats. Tucking her phone into one pocket, she then applied light make-up with a hint more mascara than yesterday. She finished off with a light splash of perfume before she left her room to knock on Lucy's.

It _was_ twenty past eight, after all. Shouldn't she be up already?

There was a thump on the opposite side of the door as Lucy threw something - probably a slipper - at the door, yelling at her to go away for a few more hours. _Guess she forgot I'm an early riser?_ Levy mused. She shrugged and went downstairs.

Wendy sat at the dining table, spooning up the remainder of her Fruit Loops as she texted someone on her phone. She smiled as she got a reply.

MiraJane was a few feet away in the open kitchen area. She seemed to be making pancakes, or something similar. Whatever it was, it smelled good, which is what Levy told her.

"Awh, thanks Levy!" MiraJane smiled happily. "It's apple and cinnamon pancakes. I usually make them on Saturdays. Help yourself to the ones I made already."

She was about to protest when Wendy hastily whispered to her: "Don't decline, she will force them on you." The younger girl pointed to the plate next to her bowl, which had pancake remains on it. Gulping, Levy nodded and made herself a plate, sliding two from the pile and sprinkling a little sugar and a dash of maple syrup on them before sitting down opposite Wendy.

"So, who are you texting so early in the morning, Wendy-chan?" Levy grinned, cutting a piece and eating it. The pancakes were _very_ delicious, and she wonders how badly Lucy will kill her for not going upstairs to get her.

"Ah.." Wendy blushed, looking down and allowing her hair to curtain her face. "M-my boyfriend.."(2)

**"Boyfriend?!" **Levy and MiraJane squealed together. Wendy hid her face in her hands.

"Y-yes. Boyfriend."

"Who is he? Does he go here?"

"What's his name? How old is he? How long have you been together?"

"Umm, his name is Joel. W-williams. He's 17, we've been together about 6 months now. He lives in a different part of the country, he wants to be a musician."

"Awwh, so it's a long-distance relationship?" MiraJane cooed, having finished making pancakes, which was just as well since she made out 20.

Wendy nodded.

"How did you meet?" Levy asked curiously, finishing her first pancake and going for the second.

"He was travelling almost a year ago in the area where I live with my grandmother, more like running away. He'd been cast out from his family and village for some silly reason to do with his mother, who's in prison. So he was running away and er, ran into me." Wendy giggled at the memory. "He stayed for about a month, I was 15 at the time and he 16. We gave him shelter as long as he helped at my grandmother's surgery. During that time we grew closer and he told me what happened. In the end I convinced him to go home, and make amends."

"Awh," Levy smiled.

"Hehe. Well he did, and then about 6 and a bit months ago he came up for a week to visit again. He told me how it went, which was well, and that he also got into a special music school to finish his school years in, which went straight into a music university. On his last day visiting me, he asked me out, and... h-he k-k-kissed me." Wendy stopped there to hide her face again.

Lucy came down the stairs at the exact moment MiraJane and Levy started squealing, making her jump. "What the hell, guys!?"

"Lucy!" Levy cried. "Wendy's got a boyfriend! They're soo cute!"

Lucy's eyes widened. Then narrowed. "Why didn't you wake me up for pancakes?"

* * *

**A/N:**

**(1)Imagine a rectangle: 3 of the small dorms down the bottom, then the two remaining small dorms on opposite sides just above the other them, and 2 bigger dorms above them, then the remaining 3 opposite the first 3. and in the middle a big building for everyone to hang out in!**

**(2)I want her in a relationship with my OC Joel without him being in the story too much, or at all. It'll be a long-distance relationship! (If you don't know Joel check out Dragon Hearts and How To Tame Them, or wait until he makes an appearance.)**

**And I don't ship RomeoXWendy, so it's definitely not him.**

**..**

**..**

**ALSO SORRY BUT THIS STORY WILL BE VERY REALISTIC - IT'S GONNA BE A COUPLE CHAPTERS UNTIL LEVY AND GAJEEL MEET SINCE WE'RE STILL IN THE INTRODUCTIONARY CHAPTERS. **

**also Levy and Gajeel dont have any classes/clubs in common for reasons.**

**so it might be as late as chapter 5 before they meet okay? Since chapter 4 is the weekend and maybe Levy's first day of uni. With their schedules that I've created the first possibility for the two to meet is a Wednesday. Gajeel could stalk her before that though, I suppose.**


	4. The Calm before the Storm

**Heyyy guys sorry its been so long. Around this time last month I'd been trying to update when my boyfriend surprised me with a camping trip to Cornwall (UK) - where I used to live. Of course I couldn't say no! Then when I got back I was horribly sunburnt and ill, then on the 6th I was off to Cardiff for my originally planned holiday! I just got back on the 13th and have been writing like crazy.**

**IMPORTANT:: everything up to lunch in this chapter was written a while ago. Everything afterwards was unplanned and very haphazardly written! I honestly didn't expect the chapter to go that way. But it did. I also wanted to include Levy's first day of Uni in this chapter and it didn't happen. Sorry, it'll be a little longer until Levy and Gajeel interact, unless I cut down on Levy's stuff and/or Gajeel stalks her (mwahaha)**

**Also:**

**Martha - blue hair/hazel-brown eyes, 37.y.o.**

**Trevor - brown hair/blue eyes, 40.y.o.**

**Levy - blue hair/hazel-brown (looks like Martha)**

**Zach - brown hair/hazel-brown eyes (mix of both parents)**

**Naomi - brown hair/blue eyes (looks like Trevor)**

* * *

Martha came by to pick them up at about midday, announcing that they were ordered to come to lunch as well. The two agreed compliantly, hopping into the back of the car to sit together after putting their overnight bags in the back. The drive consisted of happy chattering between the three ladies, discussing events that had happened over the last couple of years since Lucy and Martha had last seen each other. Lucy told her about her relationship with the "pink-haired rascal" as Martha had frequently called him when they were younger and she giggled happily as she watch her daughter laugh at her blushing friend.

Zach stood in the doorway as they pulled into the driveway, racing down the steps to hug his sister fiercely as she got out of the car. She laughed at his antics.

"Zakkun, it hasn't even been a full day yet."

"But I missed you already Levy-nee!" He hugged her tighter. For a boy of nine years old, he was at average height for his age, though this was only a few inches shorter than Levy's petite frame of 5'3".

"Awwhhh, you're so cute little bro!"

"Hi Zachhy, do you remember me?" Lucy called from the other side of the car, walking around. She bent slightly to pat his fluffy chocolate locks.

"Ehh? Lucy-neesan?" Zach's eyes widened. "I haven't seen _you_ in _forever_!" he cried enthusiastically, hugging her too. Lucy giggled.

"Ehh? Are you _taller,_ Zach?" Lucy teased Levy with a wink. "Levy-chan hasn't grown at all!"

"Yes! I'll be taller than Levy-nee soon!" Zach boasted, standing up on his toes and giggling as his sister scowled. With this extra height he was just a tiny bit shorter than Levy.

"Go inside Zach, we need to get our bags."

"Awwhh,"

"We'll be inside in a minute," Lucy smiled, going to get her bag.

Martha smiled and guided the pouting boy into the house again, letting the girls grab their bags and shut the car.

Inside, pleasantries were exchanged between Trevor and Lucy as Levy picked up Naomi from her toddler seat in the kitchen; where her father could keep an eye on her and still make lunch. They shared a happy cuddle, before moving into the living room to cuddle with Lucy. The family watched Spongebob whilst Trevor finished adding the final touches to lunch.

Lunch consisted of a bright caesar salad with freshly baked bread rolls, with a selection of sliced meats and cheeses on the side.

Afterwards, Levy and Lucy took Naomi into the back garden to play whilst Zach helped clear the dining table so he could do his homework there. Levy and Lucy took many pictures out the in the sun, including a few with Naomi smiling brilliantly. Then said toddler started crying for a nap and the girls handed her over to Levy's mother, running upstairs with their bags and settling in Levy's room.

It was a clash of every phase Levy went through as a teen: pale yellow walls with white flowery curtains and pillow covers with fairy lights strung along the wall where her bed was; her desk, bookshelves -where a few lone reference books gathered dust- and (currently empty) wardrobe covered in her study notes which were sticky-taped along their wooden sides, her guitars - one a beat-up acoustic that was her pride and joy though couldn't fit in the first trip to Uni and a second equally funky electric that she covered in stickers of several of her favourite rock bands. There were also posters all over the walls of all the things she liked throughout her phases: animals and Disney characters, famous scientists, professors, archaeologists, and several music posters, some of which were even signed. Lucy took all of this in as she entered the room, feeling nostalgic as she sat on her friend's bed. Levy, however, had boys on the brain.

"Ne, Lu-chan," Levy asked, blushing, "what made you first look at Natsu differently?"

"What do you mean?" Lucy replied, searching her handbag for the nail polish bottles she could've sworn she packed. Levy fiddled with her hands.

"I mean, he's always liked you, everybody knew that. But up until you started going out you only saw him as a friend?"

"Ah hah!" Lucy withdrew her hand to reveal three small bottles; one pale pink, one vibrant orange, one a sparkly, dark purple. She held the bottles out to Levy, who after a moment of thought took the bright orange bottle. Lucy set the other two down and went to work painting her friend's nails.

"Well, I admit now that even though I treated him like a friend, I did actually know he liked me," she sighed, starting with Levy's right pinky finger. "But I only saw him as someone annoying, in sometimes a funny way. Like you'd see Zach right? Little brother type."

"So what changed?" Levy's curiosity grew.

"Well... I don't understand it myself really," Lucy blushed. "The first thing I saw different about him was his hair. It was still it's usual pink, but he'd grown it out a bit and it... I dunno, it just suited him. Framed his face, and just...made him look older, yaknow? When I met up with the gang out of school, his clothing style... seemed a bit more grown up. He wore jeans that fit and didn't sag like some idiots wore them. The stupid t-shirts with the weird slogans he liked so much seemed to show off his athletic body rather than point out his crazy sense of humour. He started expressing his interest in me in a more grown-up way; hugging me as a greeting, touching my hand while we walked somewhere or putting his arm around me if a stranger got too close to me. He walked me home even if it wasn't dark, he picked me up for the group outings instead of meeting me there so that we could talk privately, even if he still acted like an idiot. When he finally ended up asking me out, I was so excited." Lucy smiled happily as she finished with Levy's hands. Levy was smiling too.

"Awwh, that's just the cutest thing!" she cried out, wrapping her arms around her blonde friend carefully as she laughed.

"What about you, Levy-chan?" Lucy pulled back, wiggling her eyebrows at the blunette. "Did you meet anyone nice at college?"

Levy snorted, fighting off the blush. She waved her hands in front of her face in the pretence of drying her nails, when really she was hiding her face.

"Everyone was nice, I don't know what you're talking about." she murmured. Lucy stilled her hands, revealing Levy's red cheeks and the fact that her nails had dried. She handed the blushing girl the pale pink and sparkly purple, telling Levy to go wild with her designs. Levy, ironically, was always good with designing things small in size so she was quite talented in nail art. She sighed and started with the pale pink.

"_Fine_. There were two people." She started off. "The first was a lovely boy named Eve, and he was studying to become a geography teacher, since he loved talking about cold climates. We dated five days in my first year of college and didn't kiss because he was too busy talking about how much he loved snow." Levy rolled her eyes as Lucy giggled. She'd painted all of the blonde's nails with a practised ease and made Lucy blow on the to dry them quicker.

"The second... was a girl." Levy blushed. Lucy squealed loudly in shock. Her eyes were wide in surprise and her mouth hung open. Nails dry, Levy opened the purple bottle and started lining all the nails apart from the ring fingers with the darker colour. "Her name was Yukino and her hair was short and a very light blue, we became friends simply because of that." Levy smiled as she continued her work. "We weren't close at all, until one night a few months before graduation she came to my house. She stood outside my window throwing pebbles, crying her heart out. She'd just broken up with her girlfriend." Lucy looked a little surprised but otherwise said nothing. On each ring finger, Levy painted a heart on the centre of the nail. Simple, yet cute. It took up more concentration however. "So I snuck outside and we went to the park down the road. We talked for ages, and then I leaned in to hug her... and she leaned in and kissed me."

This time, Lucy screamed so loud Martha knocked on the door, asking if they were alright. They replied, saying they were fine, and continued with their talk.

"Your first kiss was with a _girl?"_ Lucy whisper-screamed. Levy nodded, finishing her design. Lucy waved her hands up and down absent-mindedly.

"Mhmm. It also confirmed my curiosities: I'm quite sure that gender doesn't matter to me as long as I like their personalities." Levy informed her friend in a matter-of-fact tone. "Though hot people still catch my eye faster than others," she teased with a wink, making Lucy laugh off her shock.

"So what happened after that?" Lucy chirped curiously.

"Well, I was quite surprised, so she said she'd go home and give me time to think. In the end I'd told her that while I didn't mind the kiss, I couldn't see myself in a serious relationship with her."

Lucy nodded seriously.

"...So it wasn't serious." Levy grinned devilishly. "We saw each other on and off for about 3 months."

"Wow. Wow wow wow Levy just- what?!" Lucy was once again shocked out of her wits. Just how much did her friend change over these two years?

"Like I said, it wasn't serious. Every once in a while we'd stay each other's houses and watch movies together, and make out a few times," Levy shrugged. "We never made it public and we agreed at graduation that we'd stay friends."

"Let me see her! Do you have Facebook?" Lucy grabbed at her handbag, which is huge, and miraculously pulls a mini laptop from it. She logged out of Facebook to let Levy sign on.

"Sure, I only got Facebook over summer though. Let me add you!" Levy signed on. It wasn't a very useful website to her; after all she had maybe 30 friends on it at most, since most of her classmates at college didn't like her for some reason or another. She searched up Lucy, Gray, Natsu, and a couple of others from highschool before typing in Yukino's name and going on her profile.

"Wow," Lucy whistled. "She certainly is pretty." Her current picture was of her wearing a slim-fitting white and blue dress, her hair neatly brushed into a bob cut and a small smile adorning her face. Lucy grabbed the laptop back off Levy and flicked through Yukino's profile pictures. One of them, dated a few months back, was of her and Levy. Yukino's hair was in a short pixie cut back then, her brown eyes defiant and her face was clear of make-up. She was wearing a white tank top with rips down the sides over a black bra and several necklaces and earrings could be seen in the picture, and she had a small, lopsided smile on her face as she put an arm around Levy in the picture, making a peace sign in the picture with the same hand and slightly covering Levy's face. Levy was only slightly shorter than Yukino, making it seem to Lucy that Yukino is short as well. Levy's hair was slightly shorter then too, and was in a short braid on either side of her head in the picture. Levy remembered that the picture was taken just after one of her exams, since she was wearing her bright red reading glasses. In the picture she was wearing one of Yukino's t-shirts ("For good luck!" Yukino had told her) and it was slightly falling off her shoulders. She was also smiling fondly at the camera. The caption of the pic read "Me and the brightest star in my life! Bestie ;)"

"Rude!" Lucy gasped in mock-horror. "I thought _I_ was your best friend?!" she joked. Levy laughed.

* * *

Dinner was uneventful, Levy and Lucy cleaned up afterwards, the family watched a movie in the living room after Naomi was put to sleep. Zach went to sleep after the movie, since it was the weekend and he was allowed to stay up late. The girls decided not to stay up late and went to sleep straight away instead.

Sunday was spent sleeping in, then taking a bus into Magnolia City Centre to meet up with Erza, MiraJane and Wendy. The two older students told them that it would be best to gather up some personal cutlery of their own so that they wouldn't use up anyone else's. Erza apparently had red plastic cups, plates, bowls and cutlery with plastic handles. MiraJane had purple. Wendy decided on blue, Lucy on pink and Levy on orange.

They went to a 24-seven supermarket and bought a heap of things they needed, including packs of instant ramen and pot noodles. Levy also snagged a couple of jars of sweet and sour sauce, some tomato sauce, some soup packets and a box of rice. They then bought toiletries for their personal bathrooms (some how staying consistent with their chosen colours) and went to have a quick coffee at a cafe.

After the shopping was done, Erza, MiraJane and Wendy took the bus to Uni back and Lucy and Levy returned to the latter's home.

Together the family had dinner, cleaned up and said their goodbyes to the girls as they packed their bags again, this time Levy managed to snag her signed posters and her electric guitar and amp. She decided on leaving her acoustic; she didn't want it breaking at Uni.

That evening, the students were blessed with not having to eat a second dinner made by Mira, and instead watched funny home videos on the comedy channel until nightfall. It was only then that Levy realised the date on her alarm clock.

She was starting University tomorrow!


	5. A Step on the Path

**AN/ I don't own any songs at all. That goes for the Ludo song in the third chapter too. I just like musical alarm clocks.**

**Also, I've changed my mind about Levy's career path. Instead of ancient languages I like the idea of making her a foreign language specialist, someone who helps students from foreign countries learn English/other languages. I had a teacher like that teach me German when I first moved there and it was useful (even if she was a bitch and super-annoying).**

**Sorry to those who voted!**

**ALSO BIG THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO FOLLOWS/FAVOURITED THIS STORY. THANK YOU THANK YOU!**

* * *

Click-click.

Beeep.

_"Let's leave no words unspoken, and save regrets for the broken. Will you even look back when you think of me?"_

As the guitar riff to A Day To Remember's "All I Want" starts up, Levy finally leaves her bed after being awake for some time. Yawning, she grabbed a clean pair of white lace underwear and matching white lacy bra before wandering into her en suite and taking a shower, mumbling along to the words she knew by heart even without hearing the song.

_"All I want is place to call my own, and mend the hearts of everyone who feels alone, woah! You know to keep you hopes up high and your head down low!"_

She quickly washed, then shaved her legs and armpits, then washed the shampoo and conditioner out of her hair. It smelled strongly of mangos in the capsule, so she was glad it had a built-in filter to release the build up of steam in the tiny room. She towel-dried her hair as best she could before patting down her body and getting dressed. Going back in her room, she grabbed her hair dryer and dried her hair quickly, ignoring the mass of wild curls it was quickly forming into. Above her desk, sticky-taped to the shelf and hanging down from it was the piece of paper that held a copy of her schedule, which currently held her attention.

**MONDAY:**

**Language History **_(9am - 11:30am)_

**Literacy Studies **_(3pm - 4:45pm)_

**Advanced Japanese Studies **_(5pm - 6pm)_

_So my lunch break is from 11:30 till 3. I wonder who else is free?_ Levy wondered. She texted just this to Natsu and Gray, resolving to ask Lucy and Wendy personally. Would MiraJane and Erza also have free time or would they be busy?

Deciding to dress cute but casual for her first proper day at Uni, Levy dressed in a loose, light turquoise, cropped tank top with lace trimming around the bottom, which stopped just above her belly button. She searched for a while but eventually found the pair of high-waisted denim shorts that she liked wearing with crop tops and pulled those on too. After putting on deodorant and body spray, she brushed through her hair as best as she could before pulling it back in a loose ponytail, making it easier for her to tie a pale greyish-white head band around her head, leaving some strands of curls framing her face. Before she undid the ponytail again she applied light make-up to her eyes and a layer of lipgloss; she pulled her hair free and smiled in her reflection of the mirror she hung up on the wall of the en suite.

Checking the time, which was very close to eight, she slipped her feet into grey low-top converse with a pale green tongue and looked around for her new book bag.

Said bookbag was surprisingly large and spacious, perfect for Levy's uses. It was a very simple bag in design: one thick white strap supporting a pale blue rectangular shaped material. It didn't have any compartments other than one on the flap covering the bag and one inside for small objects. She placed three of her new A4 notebooks and her pencil case in her bag, plus a book. Her body spray bottle, her sunglasses, her iPod and headphones went into the flap pocket. She attached the chain of her purse to the zip and added that as well.

It was just gone five past eight when her phone beeped twice. Natsu and Gray had a habit of texting at the same time.

_"i only have 1 class 2day! Tht's 3 so im free until then :P"_

_"lol, i have no classes until wednesday"_

Levy smiled to herself as she tucked her phone into her pocket, imagining the look of smugness on Gray's face at having no classes. Natsu will surely punch him.

She left and locked her room, then went to knock on Wendy's door. There was no reply so she assumed she was downstairs. She knocked on Lucy's, hearing a muffled "come in!".

Lucy sat in her pajamas at her desk with a cup of tea and her laptop open on the desk. She was watching her favourite YouTuber, like she did every morning in high school. Levy smiled at her friend's dedication.

"I'm gonna get breakfast then go to class, when's yours?" Levy asked.

"My first class is at 10, until noon. Then Literacy Studies at 3." Lucy read off her schedule sheet.

"That's the class I have with you!" Levy grinned. "Natsu and Gray are free until 3 as well. Well, Gray doesn't have any classes at all today apparently. What about Wendy?"

"Her class was at 8. I saw her when I went and made my tea. Advanced Biology." Lucy wrinkled her nose at the thought of such a difficult class.

"Ah, I see." Levy made a mental note to ask Wendy about her day later this evening. "I've gotta go, let's meet in front of the library at noon, okay?"

"Sure!" Lucy waved as Levy shut the door as she left.

MiraJane and Erza were sitting quietly at the dining table as Levy came downstairs.

"Help yourself to any of the quick-breakfast stuffs in the cupboard," MiraJane told her after the two girls said good morning to the blunette. Levy thanked her and moved to the kitchen area.

She grabbed the plastic travel mug she bought (bright orange with a white lid and a pattern of oranges and daisies lining the bottom) and mixed coffee powder with the last of the hot water in the kettle, making just enough for two-thirds of a semi-hot drink for her to drink on the way to class. She closed the lid, refilled the kettle and popped a packet of blueberry PopTarts into the toaster, jumping in fright when MiraJane screamed.

"I _told you!_ She chose blueberry!"

There was a sigh, and as Levy turned she saw Erza handing the smirking blonde a 1'000 yen note. Levy rolled her eyes, grabbing a paper towel as the toaster popped. Careful not to burn her hands on the hot snack, she wrapped the tarts in the paper towel, grabbed her travel mug and left the dorm, glancing at the clock on the way and realising that she had about 20 minutes to find her class, which was, according to her schedule, on the first floor of the main building. She raced past the other dorm buildings, joining the flow of students heading into the main building as she sipped her drink and took bites out her PopTarts.

She'd just finished her breakfast and was just turning to go up the stairs when someone bumped into her from behind, tripping her up the stairs.

"Kya!" she cried out embarrassingly, throwing her hands out in front her to catch herself.

Surprisingly she never landed; a strong arm was wrapped around her midsection and she was hovering a couple of inches above a step. Face flushing red, she leaned back to straighten herself up again and turned to face the person who grabbed her.

"Thank...s.." her eyes widened at the man before her. He was impossibly tall and broad, with thick muscles in his arms and his shirt barely stretched over his muscled chest. His hair was long, to his elbows at least, ink black and brushed back from his face, which was slightly pointed and featured studded eyebrows, blood-red eyes and a scowl directed at her.

"Watch where yer goin', midget." he muttered, stepping back from her direct area. Levy noted idly that people seemed to move away and around him.

"Gee thanks, I'm sure it's every bit my fault someone pushes me into by accident, yep!" Levy replied without thinking, and for a second she thought the guy in front of her would become aggressive, until she saw the corner of his mouth twitch upwards for a second before scowling again. He was amused at her.

"Just watch yer step next time." With that, the tall, dark and definitely interesting man left, leaving her with just 5 minutes to get to class. Thankfully the hall had cleared for the most part, giving her plenty of space to race upstairs and find her class room. She was quite thankful that first-day-nerves had kicked in, otherwise she'd still be thinking of the stranger who saved her from falling flat on her face.

* * *

Language History was slightly different to what Levy had in mind.

What Levy imagined was a course about the first languages to exist, ancient and cool. Instead, there were about 20 students alongside her learning about the importance of teaching and learning foreign languages in order to educate people and give them the ability to have multiple languages, and the history of how this theory came to be.

Still interesting, but not what she'd thought.

The first hour was a basic get-to-know-your-classmates scheme, where Levy immediately found out there were no interesting people in her class (in her opinion), and therefore there was no need for her to try to sit next to someone and make friends. She sat in the middle on the right, next to one of the windows; if anyone wanted to sit next to her they would.

The following hour and a half was an introduction of the class; why knowing more than one language had become necessary, how industrial growth had brought about workers from all over the world working with other people around the world and the lack of communication that followed from speaking different languages.

At the end of the class, the professor announced that unfortunately, due to the lack of interested students over the years, the class was being cut short to a single semester. _Fair enough,_ Levy thought to herself as some students complained out loud. _I'll have probably learnt everything by Christmas anyway._

* * *

Levy had wandered over to where the Literacy Studies classroom would be during the half hour slot of time she had before meeting Lucy, and was just heading back down the stairs as a head of blue hair blurred up the steps towards her.

"Woah! Slow down Wendy-chan!" she called quickly, holding her hands out to catch the younger girl, who seemed out of breath.

Said girl was wearing a pair of simple blue shorts and a large purple t-shirt, most likely one of Joel's. Her hair was swept up in a high ponytail and her face was red from running.

"Hello Levy-neesan!" The darker blunette smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry I didn't see you!"

"It's fine," Levy patted her head. "Where are you going?"

"Advanced Chemistry," Wendy replied. "It starts at noon and it's on the top floor."

"What about lunch?"

"My break started at 10."

"Ahh, I see."

"I have another break between 2 and 4pm, I hope to bump into you again during that time," Wendy smiled, bowed sightly and started running again.

"I'm on break until 3pm!" Levy called after the younger girl, though she was unsure if she heard. She smiled and shook her head. She wandered over to the library and sat down on the grass in front of the building, stretching her legs out in the sun. A little before noon she received a text from Lucy saying she'd be a little late and to go to the canteen without her, to which she replied saying she didn't mind waiting out in the sun.

She had barely been listening to her music for ten minutes when a slightly familiar face exited the main building, this time carrying a box of seemingly random metal objects. He scowled when he spotted her, but it flicked up into a smirk when he realised she was staring at him. She blushed and pulled her headphones out of her ears.

"Hey! Umm," She stood up quickly as he approached warily. "I just wanted to properly say thanks. F-for catching me earlier."

The guy grunted. "S'no problem. Wouldn't want ya bruising yer pretty little face, would we?"

There was a moment when both Levy and the dark-haired guy both seemed surprised with his comment about her face being pretty, and then it dissipated as the guy turned to leave.

"Um, I'm Levy! Levy McGarden!" she called to his back. In response he stopped and replied over his shoulder.

"Redfox. Gajeel Redfox."

It was only when he disappeared around the corner that Levy spotted Lucy, Natsu and Gray watching the whole encounter from the exit of the main building, devious grins on their faces.

"Well well, Levy-chan..."

* * *

**Gajeel POV**

Running into the blue-haired girl so early on in the academic year had been both a blessing and a curse.

A blessing, because A) he could see that she wasn't just a pretty thing from a distance but an absolute _babe_ up close; and B) he saved her from falling on her face, girls dig that kinda hero thing right? Plus, he got to show her how awesomely strong and manly he was.

Unfortunately meeting her was more of a curse, in that holding a proper conversation with _anyone_, let alone a hot chick he kinda wanted to actually talk to, was nigh on impossible for him, hence his scowl and seemingly annoyed tone of voice when he spoke to her. Thankfully she didn't seem too put off and even replied in a sarcastic way! She had a good attitude on her, which he liked.

And then, a couple of hours of doing errands for the Master later, and he sees her again, sitting in front of the library in the sun, looking beautiful. He notices when she spots him, and after a while he feels himself smirking at her. He hopes he doesn't look too menacing, that's happened to him before.

She stood up, though it really didn't do much for her height in comparison to his.

"Hey! Umm, I just wanted to properly say thanks. F-for catching me earlier."

Unsure of what to say, Gajeel grunted, panicking. "S'no problem. Wouldn't want ya bruising yer pretty little face, would we?"

He froze, willing with everything in his power that his face didn't go red. He seemed to have shocked the petite girl too, as she stood there gaping at him and blushing from cheek to cheek. The sight was so adorable he had to force himself to start walking away before he hugged her or something.

And Gajeel doesn't _do_ hugs.

"Um, I'm Levy! Levy McGarden!"

"Redfox. Gajeel Redfox." Allowing himself one last glimpse over his shoulder, he quickly turned and continued on his way to the garage.

* * *

**I hope this surprised you! Maybe enough to review and tell me what you think? :)**


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